Does anyone have any experience with the new evinrude e-tecs?If so what are your experiences good or bad?

Bought 3 150 etec's last year for boats at work. I am a merc guy down to the butt tattoo but these engines are impressive. Very quiet and smooth and no problems. I bought direct from BRP and had to take to dealer to get set up on computer so engine seems not too complicated. A merc Verado requires Smart Gauges and hydraulic steering which complicate install and add up on $$$.

What did you pay for a 150 e-tec?What kind of boats are you running and what speed does the e-tec push them and is the gas mileage okay?

Don't try to get them for my price, I can't personally either at $10,000.00. They are on a heavy 20' "fast responce" boat that is aluminum with a Hiab crane on front. They run mid 40's with a 17 pitch prop. Gas milage is very good and very quiet compared to last engines. I had one in the service bay last week running on ear muffs and you could talk in a normal voice beside it. I have heard the Merc Optimax gets better fuel milage in the high HP models.

Check (search) out boatfreaks.org, screamandfly.com and iboats.com which are three excellent forums with quality on par with HCS.

Bob

That is correct. I also am a Mercury owner and believe it's the best bang for the buck. I don't have an Opti.....YET, but next year I will. Running a 2 stroke carb XR6-150, 2005 model and love it. I purchased as a package but for fuel economy I should have spent a extra 1500 buck for the Opti. It's not that I'm not happy, I am, but pulling tubes all day the extra money at purchase time would have been in my pocket by now.

If you go to the Merc website, there is a comparison VS the E-Tec in several categories, it's a good read. But, I'd bet the E-Tec is a great motor as well, I just happen to be Mercury brand loyal.

Bassboat central also has some good info on motors and great threads, iboats.com is another.

John

The etec is a killer motor better on gas then our yami 4stoke, also dont have the problems opti's do. Plus they are quiter.

Opti's HAD problems in there earlier years, not anymore And I believe they get the best MPG out of any 2 stroke, all manufactures.

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Well I am a Mercury dealer as well as an Evinrude dealer...i have had ZERO problems with the Mercury Optimax's HOWEVER, we've had our share of problems with Etecs. I have a customer who purchased a 150 Etec 2 weeks ago and has alread been through over 120 gallons of fuel. His buddy has a 150 Optimax on a similar boat and uses 1/2 the fuel...I've sold lots of 115 and smaller Etecs and they are phenominal on fuel...better than the Optimax's however BRP just hasn't been on the ball lately...lots of problems out of the box with fuel curves, etc. I'd buy an Optimax if I were you...they're much less expensive also!

I'd buy an Optimax or Yamaha HPDI before an E-Tec, much more reliable and better fuel economy. Guys here that bought the 115 and 75 E-Tec's wish they would have bought a Yammi 4-stroke instead. My boat is a couple feet longer than a friend's boat that has a 115 E-Tec and he uses more fuel during a day of running than I do.

My grandfather bought a 2004 50 HP Evinrude E-Tec. He bought it this summer. The dealer he bought it from said they sold it to the couple before him and 0 problems. We took my grandfathers boat out 2-3 times and it is awesome. My grandfather takes it out for fishing a lot now. He had an 1986 johnson 60 but he never took the boat out (afraid of motor) and now its never sitting at the dock. He loves the motor. Always fires and goes. If something happens out in the middle of the lake (in the motor) you have 6 hours of time to get back to your dock. It will only let you go so fast but you get back! Keep that in mind! When you start the motor at the dock or where ever all you hear is water coming out of the motor and hitting the lake. Thats how quiet it is!

I finally took this boat and motor out myself for a ride to see what was really happening with it. The customer has been telling us about the problems, and really, i had no reason to NOT believe him. So I take it out, it runs great. He had a 21 pitch prop on it and it wouldn't rev high enough so in order to get his max RPM, he would have to trim it to the moon until the boat would start to chine walk. I changed the prop, it runs absolutely amazing. I take anything bad i said about the etec back because they are an absolutely phenominal outboard motor! As for other problems, etc, BRP has updated their fuel curves and their engines run great.

I fish the FLW. I see my fair share of Yams, Rudes, and Mercs. Your HPDIs and your ProXS Optis are hands down the motors to have. I am a Bass Cat pro staff fisherman... and im not suposed to say anything bad about Rudes. In the snowmobile world... I dont care. Buy an e-Tec and you will be making a catastrophic mistake.

1. Poor performance
2. Poor gear case
3. Poor dependability

Also my friend... if you are a dealer, just getting into an e-Tec as they have been out for over a 2 years. Get your head out of your butt! I will an that chine walk to talk about is the POOR GEAR CASE and poor prop vents!

STAY AWAY!

Brother-in law & myself both purchased twin identical Campion (16") boats last February at a boat show in Halifax, N.S. We did a lot of research on outboards before we made our decision on what to put on the boat for a motor................The result was unanimous, it kept comming back to the E-Tec as the choice...............The dealer we bought the boat from only sold Yam. & Merc. that didn't matter,we still wnted the E-Tec (90hp)...........we drove 2hrs out of our way to have them installed & water tested at a Evinrude dealer..............We drive in salt water conditions.............I have never been more satisfied with an engine in my life.......it's been absolutely flawless............great starting/quiet/as good fuel mileage or better than a 50hp 4 stroke Yam. on the identical boat..................I can see 48 mph as well.............I can't say enough good things about the E-Tec, i love it.............made it out exactly 50 trips this year, so I have a lot of hours on her...................One thing the sled manufactuerers should copy is the fogging process,totally electronic & in 5 minutes your done, no greasy hands or cut knuckles...............I'd buy another in a heartbeat...........cheers...........

Bombardier is taking a huge chance on staying strictly 2 stroke. Alot of cranks in the beginning looks like they figured it out though. I'll bank on Suzuki 4strokes, Mercury second choice ( now they have their shift problems fixed) I'd go with Honda once they go efi.

Screw em all. Blown BBC is what every boat needs

I have a 225 Merc Optimax Pro XS and wouldn't give it up, except for a 250 Pro XS. Love it, never once had a problem with it, and is phenomanal on fuel. One fast outboard.

both are great motors but merc is better re sale/and who keeps toys forever

Honda, now you're talking, the MOST dependable engines made.

Most definitely, my dad bought a Honda 90 in '94 or '95, he's still running it with no problems. So I bought a 90EFI this spring and couldn't be happier with the choice i made. Lightest, quietest, and most fuel efficient 90 4-stroke with the changes they made from the previous honda 90 they had.

My grandpa is one of those guys who fishes every second he can. In the sumer he lives out at the lake and goes fishing just about every morning and every night. (this year was an exception he had shoulder surgery this spring so he got a late start) Last year when his merc blew he went out and bought a 75 e-tech and he couldn't be happier. The thing is amazingly quiet and extremly quick.The thing just hops I used it this year during this years fishing tournement and was the first one out of the arm and i was well onto the big lake before a smoker craft with a 115 merc caught me.

comparing to the etec, the honda's are tanks.....the etec is a very lightwiehgt motor